He Barcelona will be part of the news that the organization, the club, the RCT Barcelona-1899, and its partner, the company Tennium, will launch in a three, five-year plan, with the desire to “no longer be the best 500 category tournament in the world, but to be one of the best tournaments in the world in Premium quality”, as pointed out by the CEO of the competition, Xavier Pujol.
“It’s not about being first in the class, but in school. The world of sports moves very quickly, you have to act,” he said. Kristoff Puelinckx, founder and CEO of Tennium, which will work together with the RCT Barcelona after renewing a union that was born in 2021.
“It’s about influencing the changes and transformation that tennis is experiencing,” says Pujol. The Godó tournament has gotten to work launching a series of initiatives that strengthen and make current resources profitable. From the realistic perspective that the RCT Barcelona will continue to be the main enclave, although remodeling and modifying the spaces, and even partially expanding them in nearby facilities. And that the 500 category, assured by the ATP for fifteen years a couple of them ago, it will be the base.
“We cannot play in the Masters 1000 league, the 500 million dollar league, or a Grand Slam, but we can be one of the best in the world regardless of the category,” he says. hill
The objective is to grow economically between 30 and 50%, generate more profits to help improvements and, above all, attract tennis players, who complain about an excessively long calendar and that they do not get paid according to what they generate in the events. They will be beneficiaries of the winnings in the ATP 500 starting in 2026, as was already the case in the ATP Masters 1000, once the official financial prize has been covered.
Already in the 2026 edition there will be relevant changes, on the dates of April 14 to 20, which will continue to be those of the competition, but the event grows an extra week. There will be ‘Fan Week’ the week before, with a pre-tournament aimed at under-21 tennis players, a duel of legends, surely a doubles Spain vs. France.
An old idea returns to the scene, now reinforced and that will be put into practice on Thursday, April 17. “It will be a star match and there will be a party in the Fan Zone,” he points out. Puelinckx.
Spaces will be created for parallel events with the elimination of the current Court 3. There will be a redesign of the stands on Court 1. The offer will be expanded for fans, sponsors (about 40) and within the Hospitality.
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In 2027 the “externalization of part of the tournament” will arrive. Some doubles matches will be played in other clubs, in a meeting concept surrounded by a party with a pull for the youngest. A second players’ room will also be created outside the facility, which will maintain the core with the current one.
